Wait What did We Just Explode?
by smartone101
Summary: The sequel to "Wait- I'm a Demigod?" Khristi, Naomi, Michael, and the Stolls are back for another summer of pranks, explosions, romance...oh, yeah, and saving the world. T just in case.
1. 1: Back to Camp

**A/N- Hey everybody! I'm back with the sequel of "Wait- I'm a Demigod?"! Only this one's called: Wait- What did we just explode? In other words, Khristi, Naomi, Michael and the Stolls are back for another summer of pranks, explosions, romance…Oh, yeah, and saving the world, too. So, fasten your seatbelts, HERE WE GO!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own PJO. I'm satisfied with just owning my characters.**

Chapter 1: Back to Camp

_Khristi's POV_

It had been a normal school year. Math, science, history, all that stuff. Now, it was the last day of school and I was looking forward to Camp Half-Blood. Hey, stop looking at me with the confused expression. I'm a demigod. Daughter of Athena. If you want to learn more, go read the story mentioned at the top of this page.

So anyways, I was walking home from the bookstore after getting a new copy of _The House on Mango Street_. My first copy got chewed up by a three-headed dog. Long story. I fingered the pendent of my necklace as I walked. It was a small bow and arrows, given to me by Michael Yew, one of Apollo's sons. I got back to the apartment building and went up to the second floor. I stopped at the door to my dad's apartment. _Is it just me, or is something wrong?_

I grabbed my owl earrings and turned them into my knives. If something was wrong, it would be best to be prepared. If nothing was wrong, then at least I was ready in case something was. I opened the door and walked in, closing it behind me. I threw my bag into my room and headed for the kitchen, knives still in hand. I stopped. _Something_ was standing in the kitchen. Its back was to me, but I was pretty sure I could see a tail. With spikes. "Hey, ugly!" I yelled. If it wasn't a monster, that would be hard to explain, but I was guessing that this was, in fact, a monster. It turned.

"Hello, Khristi," it said with a smile. I gasped as I recognized my Geography teacher, Mr. Dikes. Only he looked…monstrous. Something whizzed past my head and embedded itself in the wall. I threw a knife. My aim was off and I missed. Something struck me in the leg as I threw the second knife, making me miss again. Pain lanced up my leg. Desperate, I rubbed the tips of the arrows on my pendent. The bow appeared in my hands. I grabbed an arrow from the quiver at my back and shot, hitting the monster in the chest. It exploded into gold dust all over the stove._ That's gonna be hard to explain to Dad._

"Okay, what next?" I asked out loud. The answer came to me quickly. _It's time to go back to camp._ I went to my room, pulled a bag out from under the bed, and started packing. Ten minutes later I stood and went back to the kitchen. I grabbed one of Dad's ever-present Post-it notes and scribbled a note down. "Dad, I had to go to camp. You know, the one I went to last summer? That one. I'll see you at the end of the summer. It's too dangerous for me to stay here. Love, Khristi P.S. Sorry about the mess in the kitchen." I stuck it to the stove, where he wouldn't be able to help seeing it. Then I headed out the door and downstairs to hail a taxi.

_Connor's POV_

"Are you sure this is going to work?" I asked my brother Travis. He nodded.

"Of course it's going to work, you idiot. I came up with this plan," Naomi said. Naomi…long story. She's a daughter of Nemesis, my girlfriend, and one of my two partners in crime. The other one is my brother.

"If you're sure…" I said.

"Of course I'm sure! Travis, do you have the bombs?"

"Yep." he threw the pack down.

"CAREFUL!" Naomi snapped. "You don't want those to break!"

"Okay. Here's the plan," I said. "Naomi, take the Olympians. Travis, you and I'll split the others. Sound good?"

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Good luck, everybody." We split up, each taking a couple jars.

_Ten minutes later…_

We met back behind the Hermes cabin. "When do these go off?" I asked.

"Five minutes," Naomi said.

"Okay, everybody. Take your cameras, set them up, and get the videos rolling," Travis said. "We're going to want to remember this one someday. After that, go back to whatever you were doing. We don't want to look suspicious. 'kay?"

"Whatever. Let's just get going," Naomi said. She ran off to get her camera. Travis and I split. I went over to the basketball courts ad started playing basketball with some of the Apollo kids. Michael Yew was there.

"Hey Mike."

"Don't call me Mike. It's _Michael. _Got that?"

"Okay."

"What day is it today?" he asked.

"June 3rd. Why?"

"Khristi should be here today or tomorrow, then."

"How do you know?"

"I IM-d her a week ago. Today was her last day of school."

_Uh oh, _I thought. If she got here today, she might not be too happy. And trust me, you do not want Khristi mad at you. I checked my watch. _Five…four…three…two…one…_

BOOM! The explosion was quite loud. _Thank Hermes I remembered to wear my earplugs._ I ran off to find Travis, but wasn't quite prepared for the scene I saw. On the top of every cabin was a sheet of green fire. People were trying to put it out, but it wasn't working. I ran into Naomi. "What did we just explode?" I asked.

"Safety fire. It was invented by the Hephaestus kids."

"Oh. For a minute I was worried that it was Greek fire."

"Nope. Just looks like it. Plus, it can't burn you. Plus, it's almost impossible to put out." she smirked. "Put all that together and you get the perfect prank."

"_STOLL_! What did you do this time?" A voice rang out over the clamor. I looked up at the top of Half-Blood hill. A lone figure was standing there. _Khristi. I'm dead._

**A/N- So, there you go. It's kind of short, but the first chapter usually is. The next chapters will be longer, I promise. However, school starts Tuesday, so updating will be slower. How'd you guys like it?**

**-smartone101**


	2. 2: On Saftey Fire and Hamlet

**A/N- Here I am, back with the second chapter! My inbox has been overwhelmed with reviews, alerts, favorites…WOW! Thanks to everybody! And somebody other then me knows the moose song! **

**Disclaimer- Once again, I don't own PJO. **

Chapter 2: On Safety Fire and Hamlet

_Khristi's POV_

I'd just come over the border to camp and was greeted by complete pandemonium. There were fires on top of every cabin. Campers were trying to put the fires out, but it didn't seem to be working. For a moment I was worried that somebody had attacked the camp with Greek fire, but it didn't look like anybody was getting burned. There were only a couple people who would do something like this… "_STOLL!_ What did you do this time?" I yelled before heading down the hill.

I saw the Stolls at the bottom of the hill. "Um, hi?" Travis ventured.

"You guys have some nerve! Setting fire to the cabins! What _is _that stuff? If that's Greek fire, you two are _DEAD_!" I ranted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Connor started. I cut him off.

"And don't bother telling me that you didn't do it, because I know you did. Nobody else would have done it!"

"Um, actually-"

"Why would you do something stupid like that?"

"Khristi, calm down," a voice said behind me. I turned around.

"Hi Naomi."

"That's not Greek fire. It's safety fire, invented by the Hephaestus kids." she said.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"Because she was the mastermind behind this whole fiasco," Connor said.

"WHAT! Naomi! You did this?"

"Well, I just came up with the plan, set the timer, and all that stuff. Connor and Travis were the ones who stole all the fire."

"You guys have some serious explaining to do. Since when was Naomi part of your little crime ring? What have I missed when I was at school?"

"Well, Naomi kind of entered our crime ring after the Pranking war, right Travis?"

"No, it was after she found all our supplies, wasn't it?"

"No, she found those afterwards."

"No, she found them before."

"'she' is standing right here, you know. And just so you know, I found your supplies before the pranking war, I just never told you. We started planning stuff together after the pranks." Naomi said.

"You found our supplies _before_ the pranking war?" Connor asked.

"Well, it was kind of obvious where you hid them. All I had to do was watch where you'd go right before a prank."

"Oh." the Stolls said in unison.

"Khristi! You're back!" I looked over in the direction of the voice.

"Michael?"

"Yep. How'd school go this year?"

"Boring as ever. We had to read some of Shakespeare's plays. That would have been fun, except-"

"-You've already read them, right?" Michael finished.

"Yep. Although personally I don't think it's possible to read _Hamlet_ too many times."

"Hamlet. Where's that?" Connor asked.

"That's _who_, not _where_, Connor."

"Then who's that?"

"Are you sure you want to hear this?" I asked. Connor looked a little worried.

"Okay…"

_20 minutes later…_

"And that's it. Happy?"

"What was that?" Connor asked groggily.

"What?"

"You lost me somewhere around Act 1."

"Should I explain again?" I asked, smirking.

"NO! I'll live without knowing who Hamlet is."

"If you're sure…"

"I am. Really."

"Is Travis sleeping?"

"I think so." Connor said.

"Should we wake him up?"

"No. We'll just let him sleep there. If he misses dinner, too bad for him," Michael said. "That's what he gets for putting fire on our cabins."

"Khristi?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you have a copy of Hamlet?" Naomi asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Could I borrow it?"

"Are you actually going to read it?"

"Well, just the end. That's the exciting part, when almost everybody gets killed!" I sighed. _They don't have a proper appreciation of English Literature._

I dug in my bag for a minute, before producing my copy of Hamlet. "There you go. And, as an added bonus, it's in Greek."

"No way!"

"Way. Just be careful with it. It took me forever to find."

"Okay." She grabbed the book and dashed off, probably to read the end. I heard the conch horn blow and had gotten up to go to the pavilion when I realized something.

"What happened to all the fires?"

"Oh, that." Michael said. "The other campers figured out that it was safety fire, so they just kind of picked it up and…yeah. I think they put it all on top of the Hephaestus cabin." I looked over towards cabin nine. There was a column of flames reaching up from the top.

"Oh. I see. And the Hephaestus kids are fine with this?"

"They were the ones who suggested it."

"Okay. We'd better head for dinner. Connor's already gone," I said.

"What, don't I get a 'it's nice seeing you again', or an 'I've missed you' or anything?"

I laughed. "I missed you so much. I've been looking forward to coming back to camp since…well, since I left. There, happy now?"

"Not yet-" he pulled my head down and kissed me. "There. Now I'm happy."

"AW! That's so cute!"

"NAOMI! What are you doing here?" I yelled.

"Well, Jonah wanted to know where you were, and why you hadn't helped clean up the Stolls' mess, and why you hadn't stopped by the Athena cabin yet, and why you weren't at dinner yet, and why-"

"Okay, okay I get it," I said. "Jonah wanted to know why. Then why'd he send you?"

"He didn't. I came on my own. But…I told you so! I told you so! I _totally _told you so! And see, I'm right!" she started snickering. Michael and I looked at each other, confused.

"About what?" I asked.

"About you and Michael! You two like each other! And don't bother denying it! I _saw_ you!"

"Okay, okay, you were right," I said, then muttered under my breath, "for once."

"What?"

"Never mind, never mind. Let's head to dinner. What're they having?"

"I don't know," Naomi said.

"Then what was all this about Jonah?" I asked.

"Oh, I just made that up, because I know what Jonah would be acting like."

"Then where were you?"

"I was reading Hamlet. But Khristi?"

"What?"

"I don't get any of it. It doesn't' make sense. Can you explain it to me?"

"Sure, but not right now. I'm hungry." We headed off to the pavilion.

_At the campfire…_

"So, what did I miss?"

"Not much," Michael said. "There was a big pranking war between the Stolls and Naomi. Phil, you know Phil, right?"

"Yeah…"

"He's out on a quest."

"That's…good?"

"Definitely good. The camp is finally rid of that annoying British accent." We laughed.

"What else happened?"

"Well, Naomi is now officially part of the Stolls' ring of crime. Other then that, not much has happened. What about you?"

"Me? Nothing much. There was a manticore in the kitchen when I came home from school, but other then that, I haven't seen any monsters."

"How's the archery?"

"I've been practicing. Our class had to go to some conservation camp thingy, and the archery instructor was pleasantly surprised."

"Well, we'll see if you've improved at all."

"I have, trust me. Oh, yes, I nearly forgot. Thanks so much for the necklace." Michael turned red at the mention of the necklace.

"Don't mention it."

"'kay. Just thought I'd let you know that it saved my life today."

"The manticore?"

"Yep." We sat in silence for a while. Michael started humming something. "Is that the sticky moose song?" I asked.

"Yeah. Travis, Connor, and Naomi made a recording of them singing it and put it in the Apollo cabin. It's been stuck in my head for a week now." Just then the rest of the Apollo cabin started up another song.

"_There was a great big moose,_" they sang. The rest of the campers repeated it.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention something," Michael said. "It seems that the rest of the Apollo cabin also has it going around in their heads, too, because this is the sixth night in a row that they've been singing it." I groaned. _Let's hope this doesn't go on all summer…_

**A/N- So, there you go. Hope you all liked it! Review? **

**-smartone101**


	3. 3: Explanations

**A/N- School starts tomorrow. Normally I wouldn't have written today, but I'm celebrating the last day of freedom…so here you go.**

**Disclaimer- If I've told you once, I've told you a million times: I DON'T OWN PJO! GOT IT?**

Chapter 3: Explanations

The day after I came was pretty normal. Well, if you can count a pink Ares cabin as normal. It seems Naomi and the Stolls were at it again, even though they'd gotten a week of helping with dishes for the little trick with the fire. They didn't get punished for this one though…although I thought I knew why.

"You punks are DEAD!" That was Clarisse. Naomi and the Stolls paled and took off running. They were chased around camp for the better part of an hour. Michael and I? We sat on a bench watching and laughing our heads off. I finally broached a question I had been pondering for a while.

"Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Where did you get that necklace?"

"What necklace?"

"The one with the bow and arrows."

"Oh, that necklace. Well, um, you remember Ami, right?"

"Yeah," I said, somewhat bitterly, "And I have the scar to prove it."

"Well, you know how she had really wanted to join the Hunters, right?"

"Yeah…"

"So, when she was 9, the Hunters were at camp for a while. She asked if she could join. Artemis said she was too young, but she could join in a couple years. She gave Ami the necklace. Ami got kind of mad that she couldn't join. She kept the necklace, but never used it. Before she, um, turned evil, she gave the necklace to me. She said that she 'didn't want it and wouldn't need it.' I kept it for a while, but I already had a bow of my own and didn't need hers, so…"

"You gave it to me, huh?"

"Yeah. If you don't want it now that you know whose it was, you-"

"Michael, it doesn't matter whose it was. The past is important, but it isn't everything. Yes, this was Ami's, but then it was yours. She didn't want it, and you didn't need it, so you found someone who did. And in all, I'm still grateful for the necklace."

"Okay. I didn't tell you earlier because I thought-"

"That I'd still be angry about Ami?" Michael nodded. "You were right. I was pretty angry about Ami last year. But right now, she's gone, and there's really nothing we can do about it."

"You're right, as usual," Michael said with a smile, "but then, what did I expect from an Athena kid?"

"Michael Yew, are you using stereotypes?" I asked, faking anger, "Shame on you! I expected better from you!"

"You know, I can tell when you're faking something."

"Right."

"Well, if we're talking secrets here, then I guess I have one to spill," Naomi said, popping up from behind the bench. Connor and Travis emerged next.

"What were you doing back there?" Michael scowled.

"Um, hiding from Clarisse," Naomi said.

"She said that if she caught us-" Travis started.

"-she'd pulverize us." Connor finished.

"So you were hiding to escape pulverization, huh?" I asked. They nodded. "Okay, Naomi. You said you had a secret. So, spill it."

"Spill what?" Naomi asked.

"Tell this secret."

"Naomi?" Travis asked.

"What?"

"Does this have anything to do with us?"

"Nope."

"Does this have anything to do with dinner last night?" Connor asked. Naomi looked slightly panicked.

"What did you hear?"

"So it _does _have something to do with dinner last night."

"_What did you hear?_"

"Nothing. I just guessed," Connor said. Naomi looked relieved.

"But _I _think I heard something," Michael said.

"What?"

"When Mr.D called you Ami Reese, you stood up and said, 'With all due respect, sir, it's Naomi Na-Ross.' It has something to do with the Na- doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does." Naomi said. She looked really nervous.

"Should we go in your cabin?" I asked.

"No. Not there."

"Just tell us, Naomi." Michael said impatiently. I whacked his arm lightly.

"Don't rush her."

"It's- it's about my last name. It's not Ross."

"Then what is it?" Connor asked.

"It's- it's Nakamura," Naomi murmured. Then the questions started.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

"Like Ethan Nakamura?"

"Why did you lie about it?"

"I- I was worried. I saw the orientation video. They had made a new one and put some stuff in about the second Titan War. There was a little bit about Ethan. I didn't want you guys to think I was a traitor or anything…" She trailed off. I saw a couple tears track down her face.

"You owe us an explanation," Connor said. His face showed no trace of the affection it normally held. He looked cold and dangerous.

"Not here." I said. "Michael, is there anybody in the Apollo cabin around this time of day?"

"Nope." We walked over to the Apollo cabin and sat down on the beds.

"So, start talking," Connor said harshly.

"This starts a ways back," Naomi said. "My dad had two children, both with Nemesis. Ethan was my older brother. He went to camp before I did. I didn't come until last year. Ethan came to camp for a while, but each time he came back home, he came back different. He was…colder, somehow. A couple years ago, he stopped coming home. The last time I saw him, he was missing an eye. He looked like a completely different person then the brother I'd grown up with. I didn't know what to think of him. Then, last summer, I came to camp. I saw the new orientation video, the one that talked about the second Titan war. They mentioned some of the people who had turned on the camp. One of them was Ethan. They also said that he had died. That- _that_ is how I learned my brother was dead."

"This isn't about Ethan," Connor said. "This is about _you. _And why you lied to us." I hadn't seen Connor like this before. He was so…cold, distant, harsh. It was like he'd been replaced by a stranger.

"I didn't want everybody to think that I was a traitor like my brother, so I said my last name was Ross. That was the last name Nemesis used when she met my dad."

"Wait a minute," Michael said. "Wasn't Ethan's hair black? And his eyes, they were black, too."

"My hair has always been this way," Naomi said. "My eyes, though, are a different story." She reached up and took two small lenses out of her eyes.

"Colored contacts," I breathed. Naomi's eyes were now a deep brown, almost black.

"Black eyes and blond hair, they just clashed," Naomi said. "When I was twelve, I convinced my dad to let me get colored contacts. I experimented with green, but I liked blue best."

"You know," I said, trying to lighten the mood a little, "You look better without the contacts."

"Thanks."

"You know," Michael spoke up, "Ethan didn't die a traitor. In the end, he turned on Kronos and tried to kill him. It didn't work- Kronos had the curse of Achilles- and the sword ricocheted and hit Ethan. Kronos opened a hole in Olympus and Ethan fell to his death." Naomi was listening intently. "Ethan died a hero, Naomi. You don't need to be ashamed of him. You should be proud."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Maybe she should, but I think she shouldn't," Connor broke in. "Her _brother _was the reason Kronos rose. He almost killed Annabeth. He tried to kill Percy. He-" Naomi started crying.

"Connor, stop!" I said. "You're being cruel. Naomi hasn't done anything wrong. Her brother died a hero. Look at the bead on your necklace from that summer, and you'll find Ethan's name on there. Think how you'd feel if you were her."

"I'd be ashamed of my brother, but I wouldn't have _lied_ about it," Connor hissed. "Naomi lied. She pretended she was someone she wasn't."

"What about Chris Rodriguez? He was a traitor, but he turned. Now he's treated just like anybody else!" Michael said. Travis had just sat there throughout the whole thing, but now he spoke.

"I don't know," he said slowly, "Naomi was wrong to try and hide who she was, but you're being to harsh on her, Connor. She thought her brother was a traitor and she wanted people to accept her for who she was, not who her brother was. There's nothing wrong with that." I found myself nodding in agreement. Connor's face was still cold and harsh.

"I don't know," he said. "She lied. For almost a whole year, she _lied_ to us, Travis, and you're willing to forgive her for that?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm not!" Connor stormed out of the Apollo cabin, leaving Naomi in tears.

"What have I done?" she murmured.

I went over and hugged her tightly. "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is."

"No. You did what you thought was best. And in the end, what matters is that you came clean about it. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so. You know something?"

"What?"

"I'm not going to wear these contacts anymore. I'm proud to be a Nakamura." She threw down the contacts. The conch horn blew for lunch and we all streamed in. Once everybody was eating, Connor stood. I looked over at Naomi, sitting alone at the Nemesis table. She paled when she saw Connor stand.

"You all think you know Naomi Ross," Connor started. He spat out the name as if it were poison.

"Connor, is this really necessary?" Chiron asked.

"Yes. It is. Naomi is not who she says she is. She isn't Naomi Ross. She Naomi _Nakamura_. The sister of a traitor. She lied to us, all of us, about her past, her name, everything. She even changed her appearance. Look!" he pointed to Naomi, who was slouching down in her seat. "Look at her eyes. They aren't blue like they used to be. They're black. She's lied about everything. _Everything_," Connor sat back down, looking furious. There was a short silence, then the whispers started to fly.

"Is she a traitor, too?"

"Why was she lying to us?"

"Why did she admit it?"

The rest of the Athena cabin was staring at me. _I've got a lot of explaining to do._

**A/N- So, there you go. Naomi came clean about her past, but now Connor's rejected her. What's going to happen? The answer? You'll find out! *evil chuckle* I won't be able to update as frequently, so you might have to wait a while. : ( See y'all!**

**-smartone101**


	4. 4: Thoughts and Climbing Walls

**A/N- Here you go! I didn't have any homework tonight and there were some ideas rattling around in my head, so here's chapter 4! Thanks to everybody who reviewed, favorited, etc!**

**Disclaimer- you know the routine. I don't own PJO, etc, etc, etc. **

Chapter 4: Thoughts and Climbing Walls

_Naomi's POV_

A week had passed since I'd told the truth about my past. A week since Connor had rejected me. A week since everybody in the camp started doubting my loyalty. Well, not everybody. There were a few who stuck by me.

_Khristi- _She accepted who I was with little question. An Athenian through and through, she knew all the reasons. And still stuck by me anyways.

_Michael-_ Okay, so part of this might be because he'd follow Khristi to the ends of the earth. Silly lovebirds. That reminds me of a couple days ago when they came back from the lake dripping wet and angry…never mind. I'm getting off track here. He still trusted me. It's hard for him to give up trust in someone just like that.

_Travis Stoll- _His brother might have left me, but Travis said he'd forgive me and he stuck to his word. Pretty surprising for a son of Hermes…

_Chris Rodriguez- _A traitor turned good. He knows how I feel. Enough said.

_JJ Rossenburg- _Another Hermes kid. Again, kind of surprising. Then, he's good friends with Travis and Chris, so maybe it's not that surprising. Still, he sticks up for me with that ever-sarcastic thing he calls a sense of humor.

In all, a small group. Khristi, Michael, Travis and I spend a lot of time together. Chris and JJ prefer defending from a distance. That's more then I can say for some people. Most of the campers? They never really hung around me anyways, and this just gives them another excuse to stay away. The ones who are the biggest, well, for the lack of a better word, tormenters…

_Connor Stoll_- I think he hates me now. I'm kinda sad about that- okay, I'm really upset. I thought we had something special, but I guess it was nothing. I get the feeling he talks about me behind my back, and whenever he's around me he makes a point of being stonily silent.

_Skylar Hughes-_ A girl from the Aeolus cabin. Turns out, she was the one who blew Khristi into a tree because she asked for an air mattress. She hangs out with Connor a lot now…

_Drew from Aphrodite- _enough said.

There's a couple other people, but those three are the bane of my existence. I was thinking about them, okay, I was thinking about Connor, when Khristi ran into my cabin, interrupting my reverie. "Hi Khristi," I said.

"Hi Mimi. Why so glum?" She said, sitting down on the bed by me.

"Oh, nothing," I tried to sound normal, but it must not have worked, because Khristi just looked more concerned.

"Naomi, I can tell when something is bothering you. I know you too well for you to be able to pull one over on me." Oh_. And I thought I was getting better at lying, _I thought ruefully.

"Okay, fine," I said. "I was thinking."

"About what?" Khristi gently queried.

"You're not going to leave until I tell you, are you?"

"No, I guess not."

"I was just…thinking. About, well, life in general."

"It was about Connor, wasn't it?" I nodded.

"How do you know me so well?" I asked. Khristi laughed.

"I don't. I just know you well enough." I started laughing too, but it was a forced laugh, more to make Khristi think I was okay then anything else. "If you're okay now, I've got archery in-" she checked her watch, "-five minutes."

"I'm fine," I assured her, even though I really felt anything but fine.

"Then I guess I'll see you later. Hey, do you want to race me on the climbing wall after lunch?" she suggested. I immediately perked up. Races are really my sort of thing.

"Sounds good! Twenty drachmas says I win!" I said, trying to weasel her into a bet. I _rock_ at the climbing wall. Hey, rock, get it? Get it? You know…ah, never mind.

"I really shouldn't be doing this, but…yeah. Sure. You're on." I grinned. _This is really more my sort of thing._ "Oh, I've got to go! Michael's gonna kill me if I'm late for archery today!" She ran out of the cabin. I sighed and sat back down on the bed. _I miss hanging out with Connor, pulling pranks on the Ares cabin with him, laughing together…I miss Connor. What happened to him? I told him the truth and he goes cold and harsh on me. What happened?_

_Khristi's POV_

Naomi seemed to be in a better mood when I left her cabin. Still, you never really could tell with her. To tell the truth, I was kind of worried about her. _Maybe I'll ask Michael if there's anything we can do…_

Archery that day was pretty fun. Michael promised me he'd show me how to use a fart arrow. He held to his promise, even though it meant everybody else leaving the archery range in disgust because of the smell. Finally, as I was about to leave, I remembered to ask him. "Michael?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen Naomi lately?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"She's been really down. It's just not normal for her to be this depressed. Is there anything you can do?"

Michael shook his head. "I can't heal a broken heart. And I can't silence rumors either. All we really can do is keep standing up for her and trying to keep her spirits up."

"I challenged her to a race on the climbing wall after lunch."

Michael laughed. "Did she trick you into a bet?"

"Twenty drachmas."

"Get out your money. The girl's a phenomenon on the climbing wall."

"I don't care if it means losing twenty drachmas. As long as it snaps her out of her mood."

"Hmm. You're right about that." We'd walked all the way to the pavilion without noticing. Everybody was gathering for lunch. Naomi was sitting alone at the Nemesis table like usual. She looked so lonely sitting there that I gave in to an impulse.

"Chiron?" I asked, going up to him.

"Yes child?"

"Can I sit with Naomi today?"

"Hmph. I guess so." I cheered inside and went over to Naomi's table.

"Hey Mimi."

"Hi," she said without looking up.

"Something wrong? Did Skylar do something again?"

"Oh, no. Just the usual. You know, whispered _traitor_ as I walked past her table. Drew tried to trip me on the way over to here. Nothing they haven't always done." I took a closer look at Naomi and realize she's been crying.

"Naomi. Tell me the truth. Are you okay? Really?"

Naomi was quiet for a minute. "No. It's just all…too…much," her voice started to crack. "They're all acting like I just killed their best friend and admitted that I was giving information to Kronos during the war and betrayed the whole camp all rolled into one." I knew that by _they_ she really meant Connor. The other two, Drew and Skylar, were never Naomi's friends to start with.

"Hey, it'll be okay. You've got me, and Michael, and Travis, and Chris."

"_And _she has me," JJ says, coming up behind me. I jumped and nearly spilled my soup. "And we all know that if I'm on your side, it'll be fine."

"Jay! What are you doing here?" I asked. "You nearly made me spill my soup!"

"Oh. Sorry," he said, although he didn't look too sorry. "I just wanted to say that after _finally_ finishing 'thinking it over' the Athena cabin has decided that Naomi is 'innocent of any wrongdoing and should be treated as one who has done nothing traitorous.'" I gaped at him.

"JJ! You used a big word!" I said sarcastically.

"No, I didn't. Angel did. I was quoting," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world, which it probably was - to him. Jay had a mind that nobody else really understood. I sighed and turned back to my soup. Jay went back to the Hermes table and sat down between Travis and Connor. He turned toward Connor, and I could see his usually happy and carefree face turn serious as he spoke.

_At the climbing wall…_

Naomi and I stood at the bottom of the climbing wall. Travis and Jay stood at the top. "On your marks! Get set! GO!" Travis yelled, and we started up. The wall was in full lava and earthquake mode. Naomi sprang up it like she was having fun. I immediately lagged behind, but saw a chance and caught up when Naomi tripped on a rock.

Naomi reached the top a split second before me. "I win!" she yelled, her face full of pure exhilaration. I dug twenty drachmas out of the stash I had up in a tree. As I turned to give it to her, I saw Jay hand something to Travis.

"Were you betting on us?" I asked.

"Um…yeah?" Jay said. I shook my head._ They're hopeless._

"Anybody else up to a race?" Naomi asked.

"Eww. No, of course not!" Drew said as she passed by. "I might break a nail. And anyways, what's the fun of beating a _traitor_?" Naomi's face lost all its exhilaration and turned red in anger. Jay clenched his fists and would have rushed forward, but Travis held him back. He whispered something to Jay and he calmed down a little.

"Hey, Drew," he said. I saw the corners of his mouth twitch a little and I knew he was trying not to grin. _He must have had an idea._

"What is it?" Drew asked, rolling her eyes.

"Want to bet?" Jay asked, emphasizing the magic word (or at least for a Hermes kid) _bet_.

"On what? I don't want to be late for javelin throwing."

"On whether you can beat our little climbing phenomenon. 175 drachmas says she whips your sorry butt." Now it was Drew's turn to redden in anger.

"Oh, yeah? I could beat her easily! You're on!" Jay's face brightened, and the corners of his mouth twitched even more. He was obviously very pleased at this idea.

"Full lava and earthquake mode?"

"Sure." _She doesn't know what she's getting herself into…but this should be fun to watch._

"Shake on it?" Jay pressed.

"Whatever." They shook hands.

"Swear on the river Styx?"

"I swear on the river Styx that if I lose this race to Naomi Nakamura that I will give Jay Julius Rossenburg 175 drachmas." Jay's face reddened slightly at the use of his full name. He's never liked the name Julius.

"I swear on the river Styx that if Naomi Nakamura loses this race, I will pay Drew 175 drachmas_ and_ let Drew give me a full makeover." Jay finished, adding the makeover for emphasis. He was really trying not to grin. Naomi and Drew headed down to the bottom of the climbing wall. "Wait!" Jay called after them.

"What?" Drew called back.

"No powers! I know you can charmspeak. This is sheer ability, okay?"

"Okay."

"Swear it on the Styx?"

"Okay, fine, I swear on the river Styx that I will not use my powers to manipulate this race." Now that Drew was at the bottom of the climbing wall and could no longer see him, Jay broke out into a full grin. His eyes crinkled up as his grin stretched even wider. Michael came trotting up.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jay gasped. "Naomi won the race against Khristi, and-"

"And you owe me fifteen drachmas," Michael interrupted.

"Later," Jay said. "Drew walked by as Naomi asked if anybody else wanted to race. She said it was no big thing to beat a- a traitor. I got mad and challenged her to a bet."

"For how much?" Michael asked, curious.

"175 drachmas. Plus, she gets to give me a makeover if she wins."

Michael whistled in appreciation. "Wow. You're really serious on this one, aren't you?"

"What?" Jay asked. "When am I _not_ serious?"

"All the time," Michael, Travis and I said as one. Jay looked offended.

"And I thought you were my friends!" he scoffed before the haughty face he'd put on crumpled back into its usual grin. "Travis, my friend, would you do the honors of starting this race?"

"By all means!" Travis said. "On your marks! Get set! GO!" Naomi and Drew started up the wall. Naomi had a serious advantage, but she was a little winded from our race. When Naomi was about ¾ of the way up, I saw Drew's mouth move and saw Naomi stop and turn. She lost her balance and started tumbling down towards a patch of lava at the bottom. Drew resumed her upward climb, a nasty sneer on her face.

Jay's face turned white when he saw Naomi start to fall. "NO!" he yelled. Jumping over the edge, he started picking his way down, trying to get there before Naomi hit the lava. All Travis, Michael and I could do was stand and watch in horror.

**A/N- There you go! Before you ask, this is **_**not**_** going to be Naomi/Jay. They are friends. Nothing more. 'kay? If I can engineer it, it will hopefully be- wait a minute. Why am I telling you this? Oh, yeah, and if you ask me what's going to happen, I will truthfully say that I don't really know. I have the basic plot line sketched out, but some things -like the climbing wall race- just pop in out of nowhere. Review? Tell me how I'm doing, give suggestions, anything is allowed, really. **

**-smartone101**


	5. 5: Jay to the Rescue?

**A/N- Hey everybody! Sorry for the late update. My sister and I had a friend over, so I couldn't update. It's 9/11 today. :`( Anyways, here's your chapter. And Silents-in-the-Library, yes, that was because of Ellery and Travis. ;)**

**Disclaimer- I'm a girl. Enough said.**

Chapter 5: Jay- to the Rescue?

_Jay's POV_

I slid down the climbing wall toward Naomi. My thoughts were racing. _How- what happened? What did Drew do? If Naomi gets hurt, I'll…_I went into a long mental list of things that I would do to Drew. None of them were pretty. I won't bore you with it. Naomi was getting closer to the lava. I started to move faster. I _had_ to get there before Naomi. The last time someone fell like that…let's just say that they were in the infirmary for a _very_ long time. How do I know? Okay, okay, fine. It was me. I was in there for a month. I rarely go on the climbing wall anymore. If you want to know how it happened…you really don't want to know. It's a long story. And a painful one.

I was so immersed in my thoughts that it took me a moment to realize that Naomi had snapped out of her fall and grabbed a rock. It looked pretty loose, though, something I realized even more acutely when the rock started to shift. I suddenly discovered that I was too far to the left. I started picking my way over to the right while attempting to control my descent.

I reached a point directly above Naomi and slid a little more slowly, not wanting to dislodge the rock she was grabbing while her feet tried to find some purchase on the slippery rock beneath them. Just when I had almost reached her, an earthquake shook the climbing wall and the rock slipped farther down the slope.

_Naomi's POV_

I clung to the rock as if it were the only thing between me and a painful death. Which it kind of was. Well, not really a painful death. More like a painful month or so in the infirmary. Jay had told me his story late one night. Although, I'm pretty sure that most of the Apollo cabin simply refused to treat him, thereby prolonging his stay. Why? Because he was running away after putting a huge stink bomb in their cabin when he slipped and fell. The stink bomb still went off, resulting in a lot of very angry Apollo kids and one very injured son of Hermes.

I suddenly realized that the rock had shifted again. A tremor shook the climbing wall and it started to roll. I quickly let go and jumped to the side. It's too bad that I didn't remember that the climbing wall dropped off on that side. I found myself falling for a short distance and then rolling for the lava faster then ever. I was bracing myself for impact when I hit something soft-ish that winced on impact. _Huh? There was nothing between me and the lava, so who- or what- is this?_

"Can you- get- off?" a voice grunted from underneath me. Definitely Jay. After a little accident with a couple Hephaestus kids, he generally didn't take kindly to being squashed. _But that doesn't make sense. Jay was at the top of the hill, so how could he be down here? _"I said- GET OFF! You're turning me into a JJ pancake here!"

"Sorry," I said, moving over to the side, still trying to keep my balance so I didn't go sliding down again. I looked over. Jay was on his side, facing the lava, which was about six inches from his face. His right sneaker was half-melted and the bottom of his blue jeans was singed. There was ash in his hair. He turned toward me and I saw a scrape down the side of his face. I realized that he must have thrown himself between me and the lava and that I must have landed on his back.

"Hey," he said nonchalantly.

"Thanks Jay," I said, slightly in awe as I realized exactly how close Jay had come to either killing himself or ending up back in the infirmary.

"Don't mention it."

"You- you saved me."

"I said: don't mention it. Just- don't. 'kay?" Same old Jay. "Now, let's get out of here. The walls are going to crash together in about-" he paused to check his watch, "-thirty seconds." He scrambled to his feet and pulled me up somewhat roughly. "GO!" Jay pushed me forward. I started moving for the entrance, since there clearly wasn't enough time to climb to the top. "Hurry!" Jay was clearly getting impatient. I felt another shove from behind and stumbled forward to safety as the walls moved together. Jay wasn't so lucky. I heard him cry out in pain and turned. He was on the ground, his right foot caught between the walls, which then moved apart again.

"What happened?" I asked, running over.

"I…shoved you out…tried to get out…didn't quite make it," Jay gasped. I heard footsteps behind me and turned to see Michael, Khristi, and Travis hurrying down the hill towards us.

"What happened?" Michael asked, coming to a halt.

I tried to explain as well as I could. "Jay pushed me out in front of him. I think he was diving for the exit and his foot didn't quite make it. Is there anything you can do?" Michael and Khristi pulled Jay a little farther from the climbing wall. Michael pulled off Jay's half-melted, squashed shoe. He started to pull off his sock, but it didn't work. He tried again with the same results.

"We need to get him to the infirmary," Michael said seriously, looking up from Jay's foot. "Most of the bones in his foot are probably broken from the impact of the two walls, his foot was badly scorched, and I think the inside of his sock might have partly melted into his foot."

"Ouch," Jay said with his usual touch of sarcasm. I smiled slightly despite the fact that he was hurt. Michael, Khristi, and Travis picked Jay up gently and walked toward the infirmary. Drew's words to me on the wall rang in my head.

"He owes me 175 drachmas now," Drew's snide voice came from behind me. "Look where your little mistake got you, _traitor._ Now Jay's hurt, and it's _all your fault._"

I turned, ablaze with fury. "You- you- you're the one who's responsible for this!" I yelled. "You were the one who made me fall. If _you_ hadn't been making your little comments, I would never had fallen. Jay wouldn't have come after me. He wouldn't have been hurt."

Drew's face remained twisted in a sneer. "Let's not go pointing fingers. After all, you have no proof, do you?"

"I have my word. And a man is only as good as his word, Drew."

"Then you must not be very good. After all, you lied to the whole camp for a _year_, so your word is _obviously _not trustworthy. And you _never heard anything. Nothing at all. You tripped. I had nothing to do with it._" the last part was layered with power. I could practically feel it taking hold in my mind.

"I- I didn't hear anything," somebody said. I realized it was me. _Did I actually hear anything?_ I questioned. Then I happened to glance over at Jay's melted, twisted, charred shoe. I thought of Jay, his foot twisted and burnt. And I knew.I _did _hear Drew. There really was no other option, nothing else that could have happened. "Don't try to charmspeak me," I growled. "I know what I heard, and I heard you say-"

A voice from behind me cut me off, "She didn't say anything, liar, so stop accusing her." I turned to see Skylar and Connor emerge from behind the wall. "We were watching the whole time," Skylar continued, "and we didn't hear Drew say anything, did we, Connor?"

Connor paused for a moment before shaking his head, "Nope. Nothing at all."

I could literally _feel_ my rage growing. _Connor paused for a second. He knows what happened. Not that he's going to take my side. That'll never happen,_ I thought. "You know what happened," I said, my voice cold as steel and tight with suppressed anger. "You know, and I know. It was Drew's fault. That's all there is to it."

"It was your fault Jay got hurt," Drew said. "I had nothing to do with it. You turned around on the wall. You started to kick some rocks at me, but you lost your balance and fell. Jay came down to save you. You jumped the wrong way, which made Jay have to dive over to save you. It was completely _your fault_. Isn't that right?"

Skylar nodded, "That's what I saw. Connor?"

Connor agreed. "You're just making up something, Naomi."

Now I was angry. "I was winning, fair and square. Drew shouted out, 'You're nothing but a little traitor who'll never amount to anything!' I turned around to see if she had really said that. I lost my balance and fell. Falling over the wrong edge was a complete accident. I didn't even expect Jay to come after me."

"Lies!" Skylar sneered. "I saw what happened. Connor saw what happened. It's our word against yours. And who's going to believe what a_ traitor _says?" That was the last straw for me. I lashed out, a red haze clouding my vision. I heard someone fall to the ground and I assumed that I had hit my mark. Then I turned and ran to the only place that I felt safe. The woods.

_Khristi's POV_

Travis and I paced up and down the infirmary. Michael refused to let us in to see how Jay was doing. Finally, he exited the cubicle, his face grim. "How is he?" Travis asked hurriedly.

"Well, there's a few broken bones in his foot. Those should heal, but he'll have to use crutches until they do." I almost smiled at the mental image of Jay on crutches. He'd hate them.

"What else?" I asked.

"I think there's a couple burns. Again, those should heal. The part that has me worried is that part of his sock is fused to his foot. I cut off as much of the sock as I could, but there's a layer that's attached to his foot. It might come off eventually as his skin falls off, but there's really no way to tell."

"Will it affect him? Like, how he moves and stuff?" Travis asked.

"No. I don't think so," Michael said. We all breathed a sigh of relief just as Chris came running into the infirmary at top speed and crashed into the wall.

"Hi Chris," Travis said.

Michael scowled, "You should be more careful in here. It's a good thing you didn't break anything."

"Sorry," Chris said sheepishly, "I just wanted to see if Jay would be okay."

"He'll be fine," Michael said. "Now, get out of here, all of you. Jay needs to rest." He shooed us out the door and came out after us, closing the door behind him.

A thought suddenly occurred to me. "Where's Naomi?" I asked.

"I don't know," Michael said. "She didn't follow us to the infirmary. I think she stayed back to talk to Drew." I groaned. Naomi never was any good at confrontations. She always let her feelings and instincts get the better of her. _I should have stayed back._

"That might not end well," I stated. "Naomi never was very good at confrontations. I should have stayed back to help her."

"Who ever said you were any good at confrontations, either?" Michael said teasingly.

"I'm an Athena kid, that's how I know. You have to use a bit of strategy if you want to be successful." We continued bantering back and forth while Travis and Chris looked on amused. We reached the climbing wall and looked around. Drew, Skylar, and Connor were talking. Naomi was nowhere to be seen. I ran down the short slope and approached the group. "Where's Naomi?" I asked.

"Why should I keep track of where _she_ is?" Drew sneered.

"Oh, I don't know," Travis said, "Maybe because _you_ were the one responsible for her falling. Maybe because you're the reason Jay's hurt. Maybe because you were the last person she was seen with. Maybe that's why." If I didn't know better, I could have sworn Jay was standing there, because that was exactly the kind of comment he would have made.

"On the contrary," Connor spoke up, "Naomi was responsible for her fall. Jay is the reason he is hurt. If he hadn't gone after her, he wouldn't have been hurt. Personally, I don't see why he went after her. It would have been better if he had just stayed at the top and let Naomi fall. And nobody ever _saw_ Naomi with us."

"But," Michael said, "Naomi fell because Drew said something to her, causing her to turn and fall. Jay went after her because that's what any sane person who has even half of a heart would have done. And maybe nobody saw Naomi with you, but we see evidence that she was. Look at Skylar." I took a closer look and saw a bruise forming on her jaw and grass on the back of her shirt. Naomi had obviously been there.

"I tripped and hit my jaw," Skylar said.

"No, you didn't," Michael contradicted. "Look at the shape of the bruise. It's the exact size and shape of a human hand. Now, where is Naomi?"

"We don't know," Drew said sullenly. "Stop asking us."

"Okay, we will," I said. "I already know where she would have gone, anyways."

"You do?" Michael asked.

"Think, Michael. Where does Naomi always go when she's confused, angry, sad, or just needs time to think."

Michael's face lit up. "Oh, yeah. That's where she is." The four of us, Travis, Chris, Michael, and I, moved away from the other three.

"Travis, Chris, you two stay here. Cover for us if anybody notices we're gone." A plan was forming in my mind. "Michael, do you have your bow?"

"Don't I always?" he said.

"Then let's go. Follow me." I started off towards the woods, Michael at my back.

**A/N- 'kay, there you go. How'd you like it? Review!**

**-smartone101**


	6. 6: In the Woods Again

**A/N- Don't look at me like that! It's not my fault I had geometry homework! Anyways, here's the next chapter of "Wait- What did we just Explode?", so enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I own absolutely nothing from the PJO series. You hear that? Nothing. N-O-T-H-I-N-G. **_**NOTHING WHATSOEVER. **_**Got it?**

Chapter 6: In the Woods- Again

_Naomi's POV_

I ran through the woods, crashing through the underbrush, not caring if a branch hit me in the face, which one did. I was sick of it all. The comments, the glares, the stony silence. The way everybody acted like I was a different person then I had been previously. "I'm not any different!" I howled while I ran. I finally reached the creek and sat down, trying to think. That, however, was pretty much impossible with the water gurgling and rushing past my feet. I finally gave up trying to think and just lay on the ground and sobbed.

As a lay there, an idea came to me. I hated camp right now. And most of the campers hated me. So why didn't I run away? I knew how to survive on my own. I'd be out by myself, away from all the glares and the comments. Away from Drew, making my life miserable with her comments. Away from Skylar, who made it worse when she hung out with Connor all the time. _Connor. _In my opinion, he was the worst one. The way he acted like I didn't even exist. The way he looked at Skylar. _The way he used to look at me, _my subconscious added. The way he didn't seem to care. "I'll do it," I said out loud. "But first, this needs some serious planning." I leaned against a tree to think. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't even hear what was behind me until it was too late.

_Khristi's POV_

Michael and I walked through the woods. I was leading, knives at the ready in case of monsters. Michael followed with his bow, an arrow on the string. At first, we had called out for Naomi, but Michael pointed out that when she was angry or sad, she usually liked to be alone. If she heard us calling, she wouldn't answer anyways. After that, we just kind of crept through the woods. Michael was a silent as a panther stalking its prey. Okay, bad simile. Whatever. You get the point. "Khristi?" Michael asked from behind me, keeping his voice low.

"Yeah?"

"Are you feeling like-"

"-something bad is going to happen?" I finished, "Yeah. You too?"

Michael nodded nervously. "It's too quiet. The woods are stocked with monsters. We should have seen something by now."

"Thank you for that encouraging thought." I said sarcastically.

"You're welcome," he replied with equal sarcasm. That was about when pair of draecanae decided to charge us. They each faced off with one of us. Michael dropped his bow- it would be no use against armor- and drew a dagger from his sleeve. I threw a knife, but it bounced off the armor. The other knife made a small wound in one of its tails, but it wasn't anything serious.

The dracaena pulled a curious weapon seemingly out of nowhere and threw it. There wasn't enough time to dodge and the weapon pinned my shoulder to the tree. I winced in pain, but took the opportunity to take a closer look at the weapon. It appeared to be a wheel of blades. _Most ingenious, _I thought. _Stop it! This is serious!_ my other side replied. I had reached across with my other hand and was about to yank the wheel out of my shoulder and the tree when I felt the sword at my throat. "Don't try anything," a voice hissed. It sounded suspiciously serpentine, and I realized that it was the dracaena.

"What do you want?" I gasped. A quick glance told me that Michael was also being held.

"We don't want anything. The one who employs us does."

"Who?" Michael asked.

"That is not for me to tell you," the dracaena hissed.

"Then take this!" Michael said, thrusting his dagger, which he still held, at the other dracaena. The monster wailed and exploded into gold dust, coating Michael from head to toe. He picked up his bow, nocked an arrow, and aimed it at the dracaena that held me.

"I wouldn't do that," the dracaena hissed. "She would be dead before your shot reached me."

"Want to bet on that?" Michael growled.

"If you insist on sacrificing her, go ahead." Why do I get the feeling that the her being talked about is me? Oh, yeah. It is.

"STOP!" rang out and Michael turned to face the voice. The day suddenly darkened. The dracaena released me and I turned to see what Michael was staring at. A woman dressed in black, with long hair darker then midnight. Nyx. I reached for my knives but couldn't find them. I looked around. We- Michael, the dracaena, Nyx, and I- were inside an orb of darkness. My knives were sticking to the outside, apparently trying to return to me.

"What do you want?" I said.

"I wish to give one last chance to join us. My brother was…hasty in his decision. You have no hope of winning while you remain on the side you are on. Join us, fight with us, win with us." Nyx spoke. _Who's her brother? Who's Nyx's brother? Let's see…Nyx…that's it!_

"You're with Tartarus?" Michael asked, apparently coming to the same conclusion I had.

"Of course. The both of us have been treated unfairly. We have found _others_ who feel likewise. We are growing. Soon, we shall have an army capable of overthrowing the gods." A maniacal smile grew on her face as she spoke. "What say you? Neither of you has gotten the respect you deserve. Both of you deserve more. I could give you that. All you have to do is swear allegiance."

Michael scowled. "That's what my sister said. You won't be able to get me to follow in her footsteps. There's no way in Hades I'm joining you. Khristi?"

"Same. Ami tried to kill me. I have the scar to prove it." I turned my back on Nyx and pulled the back of my shirt up a little, revealing the bottom of the scar I had gotten last summer.

"Ah, your sister. She has chosen the right path," Nyx purred.

"Has?" Michael asked. "Don't you mean had? She's dead. I saw her fall."

"But did you see her die?" Nyx said. "No. You didn't. You can't kill a servant of Tartarus by pushing them into Tartarus. She lives." An orb of darkness appeared above her outstretched hand. In it appeared the face of a girl. One I knew all too well. Ami.

"Ami?" Michael asked.

"Yes, that is her. Or at least, what she looked like about thirty seconds ago. She is very much alive. And she is still on our side. What say you to my offer?"

"It's still no." I said.

"No. Definitely no. Just because Ami's still on your side doesn't mean I'm going to join you. She tried to kill me." Michael scowled. "I don't join with people who try to kill me."

"Then I guess I have no choice but to dispose of you," Nyx said.

"Not if we hurt you first," Michael said, reaching for his bow. He looked dismayed when he realized that it was beyond his reach. He drew his dagger, face grim. I rubbed my pendant and felt the quiver at my back. I passed the bow and quiver to Michael.

"You have a better chance with these." I said. He handed over his dagger. The balance was off, but it would work. Michael nocked an arrow and shot almost immediately. The arrow passed straight through Nyx. We charged together, but twin bolts of black energy came seemingly out of nowhere and wrapped around us, pinning us so that we couldn't move.

"That is not going to work on me," Nyx said. After all, I'm not really here. What you see is part of me, but so small a part that you can not injure me. Elsewhere, I am bringing night, commanding troops…but here, I believe I am holding you two captive."

"Let us go," Michael growled.

"Oh, I'm considering it. Especially since I already have one captive." The orb on her hand shifted and I gasped. Naomi was in what appeared to be a cage. I couldn't really tell, since it wasn't exactly a large orb, but that's what it looked like to me. "Yes, you're right," Nyx said like she could read my thoughts. "That is Naomi, and she is indeed captured. However, since she still might turn and join our side, and since you need a little more _incentive_, I believe I shall be taking one of you with me. Now, who shall it be, or is one of you going to volunteer?"

There was silence for a moment. "I'll go," Michael said.

"No!" I cried out.

Michael's face was pained, "Khristi, it's for the best. I can't risk you getting hurt. Don't worry about me. I'll be alright. I really will. We'll see each other again."_ No, we won't,_ I thought.

"No Michael! You can't go!"

"I must." I could see that he was trying so hard to be brave. I couldn't help it. I started crying.

"Well, well, as much as I hate to break up this little scene here, I have places to go, things to do," Nyx said. The energy bolts released Michael and I and we dropped to the ground. Michael reached over, hugged me hard, and kissed me quickly before standing up.

"I'm ready," he said. Black began to swirl around him, starting at his feet and working its way up his body. I looked into his eyes for what might be the last time. The black was up to his waist, and swirling faster. As it reached his chest I ran towards him, trying to stop whatever was happening, but I was held back by Nyx. Before the blackness covered his mouth, he said something. I only heard my name. Then he was gone, and I was alone with Nyx.

"No!" I shouted. "What have you done with him?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just pitted him against his nemesis. The dark." The orb on her hand shifted once more, showing me Michael, alone, in a cell made of pure blackness. He threw himself against the walls, but nothing happened. A slow trickle of black sand came from the ceiling, falling in his hair. Nyx closed her hand and the orb disappeared. "You've seen what you need to. In one week the sand will reach the top of his cell and he will die. You have one week to find us if you ever want to see him alive again. Bring as many people with you as you want. The choice is yours. Find me, if you dare."

She disappeared in a swirl of dark and I was left alone on the ground. Something landed next to me. My bow and arrows. I changed them back into my pendent. Something else fell into my lap. A dagger and its sheath. Michael's dagger. It was no use looking for Naomi anymore. I stood up, fastened the sheath to my arm, and tucked the dagger into it. _I'll carry it until I find you,_ I promised Michael, even though he couldn't hear me. Then I grabbed his bow and started for camp. I had a quest to get.

**A/N- Sorry for the shortness of this chapter. I think I made up for it with the action, though…Who do you want to go on the quest with Khristi? I have some ideas, but yours are welcome, too. Review? Face it, that little blue button is calling your name.**

**-smartone101**


	7. 7: So Who's all Going?

**A/N- Hi everybody! I'm back! The next chapter will hold much…excitement. And confusion. And a lot of other stuff, most of which would give away what is going to happen in the next chapter, so I'll stop rambling. Anyways, here's chapter 7. **

**Disclaimer- Owned by me: Khristi, Naomi, Ami. Owned by Silents: Jonah, Ellery, um…can't remember any more, but there's a lot of them. Everybody else is owned by Rick. Yippee. **

Chapter 7: So- Who's all Coming?

_Khristi's POV_

Ellery IM-d me at 4 in the morning. 4 in the morning! She should know by now that I'm really not a morning person. Oh, well. I had just walked out of the Iris cabin to clear my head and think about who would be best to take on the quest. Let's see…Jay would be nice, but he's still in the infirmary. Percy would be cool, but I have the feeling he's needed at camp. **(A/N- Plus, I just can't write Percy correctly.)** Drew? No. Just…no. Her powers are great and all, but she's really hard to get along with. Hmm…this was harder than it looked. I decided to go ask Rachel, if she was awake this early.

The Oracle's cave was dark, except for a light in the far corner. Rachel was sitting up, hunched over something. She looked up and saw me, quickly tucking whatever she was working on out of sight. "Hi Khristi."

"Hi Rachel."

"So, what brings you here this early?"

"Well…you know about how Michael and Naomi are missing, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, Ellery IM-d me a while ago asking for help. The Iris cabin is going to transport us to wherever they are. I was wondering who to take, and I thought you might know."

"Ah. I see. However, in this case I can't really help you. Bring those you know will be useful, but also consider those among you of unknown worth." Okay. That was confusing. I turned to go, but asked one last question.

"What were you working on?"

"Oh, that. It's nothing." Unsatisfied by this answer, I left and walked down to the beach. The sky was starting to show the faintest traces of pink. As I walked, an idea came to me. I headed back to the Iris cabin and stuck my head in the door.

"How many people can you transport?" I asked.

Leah looked thoughtful. "Probably four of five at a maximum. Have them ready to go in half an hour."

"Okay. Jonah, get ready to go."

"Okay." I rushed out of the cabin. First stop: Hermes cabin. I snuck in and woke up the Stoll brothers.

"What is it?" Travis asked groggily.

"Go away. I was in the middle of a really great dream," Connor grumbled.

"Okay. Listen up. Both of you, get ready to go. We're going to help Ellery."

"And Naomi and Michael?" Travis asked, suddenly wide awake.

"Yep. Meet me at the Iris cabin in half an hour." I ran out. Second stop: Aeolus cabin. The winds around the cabin were still blowing, and my hair responded by becoming a mess. I opened the door and walked in. I went over to Skylar. "Hey, Skylar, wake up!" I said.

"Go 'way," she said.

"Can't do that. You're needed for a quest. Meet me at the Iris cabin in half an hour." I know you're wondering why I chose Connor and Skylar. Well, Skylar's wind powers could be really useful, which is why I chose her. Plus, she doesn't mind Phil's accent. Travis and Connor's stealing skills and overall sons-of-Hermes sneakiness could come in handy. Jonah? I'm not sure why I chose him. Maybe because he volunteered.

I snuck back into the Athena cabin and grabbed a small bag. I stuffed in a couple changes of clothes, some ambrosia, a few books, and some mortal money. I already had my weapons and Michael's dagger. I put his bow into its normal form- a Chicago Cubs cap- and tucked it into a side pocket. If I ever saw him again, he might need it. Then I headed for the Iris cabin. Connor, Travis, Skylar, and Jonah were already waiting there, along with Leah.

Suddenly, one of the Morpheus kids came running up. I think his name was Andrew. "Hey, wait!" he called.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Come to the Morpheus cabin quickly. My siblings and I, we…um….have something that might help."

"Okay…" I followed him back to the Morpheus cabin. Two girls and another boy were waiting. "Why am I here?" I asked.

"Never mind. Sit down on the bed," one of the girls said. I sat down. "Now, stay very still and clear your mind of everything except Michael." I tried to do what they said. "Now, close your eyes." I did so, trying to stay awake. The Morpheus cabin exudes this…sleepiness. It's hard to stay awake.

"Are you ready for this, guys?" I heard one of them ask. A chorus of yes followed. I felt four sets of fingertips being laid on my forehead. Everything cleared out of my mind except for Michael. I heard somebody speak, and there was a quick jolt, like a spark of electricity, then nothing. "You can open your eyes now," a boy's amused voice said. I opened my eyes. Nothing felt any different…

"What did you just do?" I asked.

"Well, it's a little hard to explain, but the next few times you sleep, you will have particularly vivid dreams, probably about Michael. Pay attention to what is said and where the dreams are set. They might give you a clue. Now go!" I ran back up to the Iris cabin.

"Okay, guys. This might feel a little strange, but don't panic. AS soon as you come out of the portal, you will feel the urge to sleep. This is perfectly normal. Everybody ready?"

"Yes."

"Yep."

"Yeah."

"Whatever."

"Okay."

"Alright. Here we go." There was a burst of rainbow-ish light that surrounded us, then it all went black.

**A/N- and there we go! I know it's short, but it needed to be in there. Review?**

**-smartone101**


	8. 8: We're trapped but at least we know!

**A/N- Here it is! The official collision of CotP and WWdWJE! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- Say it, people. Nobody but R.R. owns PJO. Not me, not you. (unless you are Rick Riordan coming here for ideas. If you are, I'm very much honored.) ;)**

Chapter 8: We Know Where Michael is- but We're Trapped

_Khristi's POV_

I landed on solid ground and caught a glimpse of Phil looked worriedly at me before I fell asleep and immediately launched into a vivid dream. I was standing on shifting black sand in a small dark room. In the corner opposite from me was a boy. He had his head down, and I couldn't see his face, but he seemed to be emitting light. Not really light you could see, but you could sense it, if you know what I mean. He looked up and my breath caught in my throat. "Michael?"

"Khristi? No, it can't be you. I'm seeing things."

"No, Michael. It's me." He got up and slowly made his way through the sand toward me. He had almost reached me and was holding out his hand as if to touch me to see if I was really real when he stopped.

"How do I know you're real?" he asked, suspicious.

"Michael, trust me." He kept reaching, but his hand went straight through mine like I was made of mist.

"You're not really here, are you?" he asked.

"No, I'm not," I admitted. "I'm dreaming all of this. It's something the Morpheus kids rigged up."

"It's good that you're not here. Here…is bad." Michael said. I took a good look at him. It had only been about a day and a half since I'd last seen him, but he didn't look good. There was a cut rising from the corner of his left eye to his hairline, his clothes were torn, and he was favoring his right leg.

"Michael, you're hurt!"

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," he said with a touch of a smile.

"Where are you?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you where. All I can tell you is to look in Seattle."

"Seattle? Why?"

"Nyx said that if anybody asks, to tell them to look in Seattle."

"Nyx?"

"Yeah. I think she knows that you guys are coming to find me."

"Yes, I do know that," a voice said. Michael's eyes widened.

"Nyx." he said.

"Why hello, Khristi. I see you've come to visit your little _friend_. How nice of you. Unfortunately, there's not much you can do, is there?"

"Go away Nyx," Michael growled. I turned to face Nyx.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"Well, I just came to check on our prisoner to see how he's doing. Especially now that nobody can save him."

"We're on our way, Nyx." I said.

"That's what you think. You'll wake up to a little surprise, though." She smiled nastily. "Ami!" A girl stepped out from behind Nyx. Michael tensed as he recognized his sister.

"Hello, Khristi," Ami said. "I see you survived. Too bad. You'll die soon enough as it is. And my _brother_ here will die even sooner."

"I'm not dead yet," Michael scowled.

"Oh, but Michael, don't you see?" Nyx said. "Your friends have no chance of saving you. The sand is working its way higher. You have about five days left." The sand was around Michael's ankles, but it was steadily increasing. "Now, I believe it's time for you to go." She waved her hand and the picture started to fade, but not before I saw Ami take out a nasty-looking whip. I woke up in a small room. I looked around and saw Phil, the Stolls, Skylar, and Jonah.

"I know where we can find Michael!" I said.

"That's great," Connor said. "The thing is, we're trapped. Nyx captured us. Oh, look, here she comes again."

"Then let's fight!" I said, switching my owls into knives.

"Oh, hello there," Nyx sneered. "I'll take those." The knives and Michael's dagger flew to her hands.

"She has all our weapons." Jonah said bleakly.

"Oh, yes, I do," Nyx said. "You are indeed trapped, Khristi Johnson. Michael will have to die, I guess. After all, there's no way you could get there in time to rescue him."

"We'll find a way out," Skylar said.

"Oh, but the thing is, if you get out of this cell, Nicholas is standing guard. Oh, yes, and Khristi? Your little visit had certain…_consequences._" She waved her hand and an orb appeared. Michael was in the corner of his cell. His mouth was taped over and his hands were tied. He looked out at me, eyes large with pain and worry.

"Michael!" Travis gasped.

"Yes, it's Michael," Nyx said. "And he'll be dead in five days." the orb disappeared and so did Nyx.

"Does she have all your weapons?" I asked.

"Yeah," Connor started. "You see-"

"-you and Phil had the only-" Travis continued.

"-concealed weapons, and Phil-"

"-was so obvious with his disguise-"

"-that Nyx immediately spotted it."

"But she doesn't have all our weapons," I said, slipping my necklace over my head. "What does this look like?" Phil's face lit up.

"A bow and arrows. Amazing."

"Thank you, Phil, for stating the obvious."

_Michael's POV_

I had seen Khristi. That much was obvious. So she was alive. Me? I wasn't doing so well. It seemed to amuse Nyx to watch Ami rip up my back with her whip and then tie me up and put a strip of tape over my mouth. Speaking of Ami, she was standing guard. Not that I'd be likely to escape. Wait…_taped over your mouth…I might not be able to escape, but I can sure be one heck of an annoying prisoner._ I started humming, mainly songs that I knew Ami hated. After about five minutes of the same song, Ami turned around. "Shut up, will you?" She growled. I put on my best innocent face and kept humming.

Ten minutes later, Ami was humming along. Every so often, she would get mad again and tell me to shut up. I would have smiled except for the fact that I couldn't with the tape. Stupid tape.

_Naomi's POV_

So, Nyx had been checking in every so often to see if I was ready to join her army. She actually brought Ami Yew with her once. That time I paced up and down the cell, "thinking" out loud. I said some pretty rude stuff before Nyx left in disgust. I love my talent for saying rude things. A little later, a guard came and stood outside my cell. I immediately started in on every annoying thing I knew. I recited lyrics in a monotone. I told them that my imaginary friend thought they were creepy. Nothing worked. _Oh. Wait…YES! That will be AWESOME! _Funny how one's definition of awesome can change. "Hey," I said.

"What?"

"I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts, (dededededede) there they are, standing in a row. Big ones, small ones, some as big as your head. Give 'em a twist…" I kept singing. The guard started singing a different song, trying to keep my annoying song out of his head. Finally, I got tired of singing and stopped. There was silence for a moment until the guard started humming something. I recognized the tune as that which I had just been singing. Score: Naomi Nakamura the AWESOME: 1. Clueless guard: 0. Now it's time for the Hole in the Bucket. Oh, man. This could be fun.

**A/N- Sorry, I know it's short. I had a lot of homework, though, so you're lucky I'm putting this up anyways. Review?**

**-smartone101**


	9. 9: Anthems

**A/N- The Collision, chapter 2 a.k.a. WWDWJE Chapter 9. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer- I own (almost) nothing, including PJO. I don't even own the evil rainbow unicorn-bunnies that **_**will**_** take over the world. ;D Silents-in-the-Library owns those. And yes, Silents, you should copyright that phrase.**

Chapter 9: Anthems

_Khristi's POV_

The fight started to go in our favor when Travis figured out how to deflect the bolts of darkness off a sword. It's too bad you can't deflect them off a bow and arrows. Lyssa shot a bolt at Phil, and I dove in front of him. Hey, he was the last one of Ellery's quest. He deserved a chance. The bolt hit me in the stomach, and I fell, fading in and out of consciousness. The fight was ending when I slipped into unconsciousness.

I opened my eyes in a cell. A black one. The one with a boy in the corner. "Hey Michael," I said weakly.

Michael looked up. He made eye contact with me and started a system of hand movements. "What?" I asked, then remembered that Michael still had tape over his mouth. "Do that again." I took a closer look. Michael pointed to me, shook his head, then pointed at the ground. "You want to know if I'm really here?" I asked.

Michael nodded. "Then don't worry. I don't think I'm really here." It started to fade again, but not before I heard Michael humming something that sounded suspiciously like the moose song.

"Khristi? Khristi! Wake up!" I heard. Something cold hit my face and I sat up, shaking the water from my eyes.

"What?"

"Oh, good. You're up," Travis said.

"What happened?"

"We won the fight. We needed you to tell us where to go next."

"Does everybody have their weapons?"

"Yep."

"Is anybody injured?"

"No."

"Is everybody ready?"

"Yep." I hauled myself to my feet and looked around.

"Then let's figure out how to get out of the Underworld. We have five days to get to Seattle." We all grabbed our stuff and started out.

_Michael's POV_

Well, Khristi was safe. That much I knew, because a little while after she left, a very angry Nyx came into my cell and started ranting about the incompetence of her troops. I would have smiled if it weren't for the tape. I guess Nyx liked being able to rant to somebody who couldn't talk back. Although, I might not be able to talk, but I could still hum…

…So of course I started to hum the moose song. Which is, by the way, possibly the singularly most annoying song found on planet Earth. "What are you doing?" Nyx asked. I shrugged my shoulders and stopped humming. "Hum that again," Nyx ordered, intrigued. I hummed it again. Nyx ripped the strip of tape from my mouth and I winced in pain. That hurt. "Sing it."

I sang it. The whole, annoying song. Once I finished, Nyx looked suspiciously at me. "It that it?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you, Michael Yew. You have successfully found the new anthem of my troops. You will now spend the rest of the day teaching it to them. Follow me. And do not expect me to untie your hands. You do not sing with your hands." I stood and Nyx grabbed my arm. There was a rush of darkness and we were standing outside my cell. "Now walk."

"Couldn't you just shadow travel?" I ventured.

"No. I teleport. I do not shadow travel."

"Then couldn't you teleport?"

"No. I would, but teleporting has a tiring effect on demigods, and if you are to teach the moose song to my troops, you can not be tired."

_Half an hour later…_

We arrived in a large hall where a wide variety of monsters and quite a few demigods were assembled. "Um…hi?" I said.

"Attention!" Nyx barked. The noise quieted down until you could hear a pin drop. "I have found an anthem that you fools can actually sing. This prisoner-" she gestured to me, "- will teach it to you." Nyx pushed me into a chair. A demigod came forward and tied my legs. Nyx disappeared in a burst of black light.

"Hi." I ventured.

"Sing the song, prisoner," the demigod who had tied me ordered.

"Okay then. Now, to sing this song, we need a leader ad a response. For now, I'll be the leader. Whatever I sing, you sing after me. Okay?"

"They'll listen," the demigod growled.

"Here we go…_There was a great big moose,_"

"_There was a great big moose,_" The monsters roared. I kept going and they kept repeating until we got to the end of the song.

"Okay, that went great. Does anybody want to lead the song this time?"

"Nobody will," my guard said. "That is your job. It will be your job to lead them in this anthem every noon and before we march to battle." Nyx appeared and marched me back to my cell. Before she exited, leaving me alone in the growing pile of black sand, she turned.

"You have done well, Michael Yew. Would you again consider joining my army?"

"Not on your life," I spat.

"Very well then. You will still lead the troops in their anthem regardless of whether you join me or not." Nyx exited and I groaned. It appeared I had a job singing the moose song. _Every. Blasted. Day_. I should never have started that.

"Hey, Ami."

"What?"

"_John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,_

_His name is my name too,_"

"SHUT UP!"

"_Whenever we go out,_

_The people always shout,_

_There goes John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt,_"

"STOP!" I kept singing. Ami kept yelling at me. Life in Nyx's prisons went on as usual.

_Naomi's POV_

More visits from Nyx. More offers to join her army. Nothing new. Until, of course, I heard Nyx talking to the guard. "Lady Nyx."

"A suitable anthem has been found. It is entitled _The Moose Song._ You will learn it by noon tomorrow." Nyx left.

"You!" the guard barked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you know this moose song?"

"Yeah…"

"Could you teach it to me?"

"Are owls creepy?"

"Huh?"

"Rhetorical question. Don't answer."

"Just teach me the song." I taught him a song. Just not the moose song. I taught him_ There's a Hole in the Bucket._ I told him it was the moose song and he believed me. Sucker. Score: Naomi Nakamura the AWESOME: 2 Clueless guard: 0. I'm winning.

A while later, I got bored and told the guard I'd accidentally taught him the wrong song. Instead, I taught him _The Sound of Music._ Let me tell you, it is very funny to see a guard warbling, _"The hills are alive, with the sound of music."_ I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe.

"What?" The guard asked, annoyed.

"Nothing," I panted. "I accidentally taught you the wrong song again. This time I'll teach you the right one." Of course, I didn't. Did you really expect me to? Guess what I taught him. No guesses? I'll tell you. I taught him _Under the Sea._ Yes, the one from _The Little Mermaid. _And the clueless guard bought it. And sang it the rest of the day. I'm pretty sure I got a hard-core abs workout from all that laughing. Whoever said being in prison couldn't be fun?

**A/N- Again, I know it's short, but it's an update. Review?**

**-smartone101**


	10. 10: Help

**A/N- Hey everybody! Don't worry, I didn't forget about you. Anyways, I'm back with another update. So…here goes!**

**Disclaimer- I should think I've said this enough.**

Chapter 10: Help

_Khristi's POV_

Well, this was just great. Phil "saw something", so of course he _had_ to go investigate. Not to mention that he was the only one in our group who had enough musical talent to fill a spoon. So now, of course, we had to figure out how to get past the Doors of Orpheus. Did I mention that I hate the Underworld? Bad memories…mainly involving Ami. Not to mention that we now know that Ami's alive again. My day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?

"So, where do we go now?" Travis asked, jerking me out of thoughts. I realized that Phil and Jonah had disappeared, leaving me staring off into space.

"We head for the Door of Orpheus," I said grimly. "Then we wait in Central Park for Phil and Jonah before figuring out how to get to Seattle."

Connor raised his hand. "One problem."

"What?" I asked, slightly impatient.

"How are we supposed to get to Seattle?"

"We could drive," suggested Travis.

Skylar snorted. "How much of an idiot are you? It'll take _days_ to get to Seattle from Central Park."

"A train?" Connor ventured.

Travis shook his head. "We've had bad experiences with trains. Remember, Connor?"

Connor's eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah. Remember that one time when we blew up the one train?"

"Dude, that was awesome!" Travis yelped.

"Except that then the guy with the pitchfork came after us…" Connor mused.

I was getting confused. "A guy with a pitchfork?"

"Yep," Travis said.

"Why did he have a pitchfork on a train?"

"I don't know," Connor smirked. "Anyways, if we go on a train, I guarantee you something's gonna happen."

"So, no trains." I concluded. "Which leaves a plane. We should be alright. After all, Athena is Zeus' favorite daughter, Aeolus is fine with air travel, and I don't think Hermes has offended anybody lately. Has he?" This last question was directed at the Stolls.

"Um…just Demeter," Travis said.

"And Persephone," Connor added.

"What about Phil and Jonah?" Skylar asked.

"Shoot. I forgot about them. They should be fine, though, don't you think?" I replied nervously.

"Yeah."

"Okay, then. Let's get a move on. This place is giving my the willies." I said.

Suddenly, Connor started to crack up. "The…willies?"

"Yes, the willies," I said, annoyed. "You've heard me say it before. Now shut up and get going."

"Whoa, chill," Connor said.

"_Chill?_ Really? You think I'm gonna just sit back and relax when Ellery, Naomi, and Michael have been kidnapped and Vince is missing? Who do you think you are?" I know, I know, I shouldn't have snapped at them, but I stressed and the four day deadline was starting to get to me.

"Okay, okay, calm down," Connor sighed. "We'll get going. Everybody have their weapons?" Everybody held up a weapon of some sort. Travis kicked at a pile of monster dust and suddenly yelped.

"What?" I snapped.

"Something hit my foot!" Travis dropped to his knees and started sifting through the pile. After a moment, he pulled out a small metal box and held it up triumphantly.

"What is that?" Skylar asked.

"It's a box, obviously," Travis replied. He pried it open. "Oh, shoot." Everybody turned in time to see Travis enveloped by a dark cloud of dust. When it disappeared, everybody was coughing and Travis was gone. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. I picked it up.

"_Well, well. It seems your pathetic little group has won a battle. But the war is just beginning. And it seems I've captured someone else. By the way, Michael Yew has been…most useful."_

"Useful? Michael?" Connor snorted.

"He's been giving information," Skylar hissed. "He's joined Nyx's side."

"He would never do something like that!" I defended. "Michael's more loyal then you'll ever be!"

"Whoa, whoa. Calm down," Connor broke in. "We have to be in Central Park in 20 minutes. We don't have any time to spare."

"Fine." Skylar conceded. "Let's get a move on."

So, we walked. And we walked. And we walked some more, until finally we saw the River Styx. The good news? We were on the right side. The bad news? We still had to get past Cerberus. Oh glory. This could get interesting.

_Michael's POV_

I had almost been asleep when I heard the noises. Key word: almost. It's almost impossible to sleep when there's sand falling on your head. Especially when the said sand is past your knees and if you lay down you'll sink into it and start suffocating. Anyways, I'm off topic. So I was sitting there, trying to rest, when I heard these noises. At first they were muffled, but they soon clarified and developed into voices.

"You know, I'm really not a good prisoner," one said. It sounded vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had heard it.

"You're not a prisoner," A voice I recognized as Nyx's replied. "You're a new recruit."

"But- but I'm not joining you!" I finally recognized the voice as belonging to one of the Stoll brothers. But which one?

"Oh, in time you will. Just like Naomi will. Just like Ellery will."

"What about Michael?"

"Michael? He's not a recruit. He is a prisoner. A useful prisoner, but a prisoner nonetheless."

"So where is he?" I finally pinned the voice as that of Travis.

"That is classified information. Ah, here we are. You can stay here until you make up your mind about joining us." I heard a door opening and closing. Nyx's footsteps receded and disappeared. I was slumping to the floor again when I heard a knock on the wall. I knocked back.

"Who's there?" A voice muttered.

"It's Michael. Michael Yew."

"Michael?"

"No, you blithering imbecile, it's Clarisse. Of course it's Michael!" I scowled.

Muffled laughter came from the other side. "How's prison?" Travis asked.

"Not much fun. I have a job, though."

"A job. You. Really?"

"Yep," I sighed.

"What is it? Scrubbing pots?" Travis queried.

"Worse."

"Worse then scrubbing pots? There's not much worse then that."

"It's leading the troops in their anthem."

"That's not _so_ bad," Travis scoffed.

"It is when the anthem is the moose song," I grumbled.

"Oh. That is bad." Silence for a moment. "There is an upside, though."

"What?" I asked, annoyed.

"I'm not the one doing it!" Travis laughed manically. _Help me. I'm stuck in prison with Travis Stoll. This will not end well._

**A/N- There you go! I know it's short, but at least it's an update. Review?**

**-smartone101**


	11. 11: Tricked

**A/N- Hey! I just realized that it has been a **_**really**_** long time since I updated this. I'll try to make this a longer one! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- Rick Riordan? Doing a collision story? On FANfiction? Isn't gonna happen.**

Chapter 11: Missing

_Khristi_

So, let's get up to date on our situation. Travis had been taken by Nyx, leaving us with Skylar, Connor, and I. Well, Phil and Jonah were with us as well, but they were off looking for something. The three of us -Connor, Skylar, and I- were waiting in Central Park at the Doors of Orpheus. We'd been waiting for at least half an hour without seeing any sign of the boys. After an hour, I had to make an executive decision. We had to assume the worst, which was that Phil and Jonah were either lost, captured, or -I hated to think of this- dead. "Okay, does everybody have their weapons?" I asked.

"Yeah," Connor muttered, picking himself up off the rock he'd been flopped on.

"Well, I couldn't really find my knife, so is it okay if I use your two?" Skylar asked.

I nodded. "Sure. Is there anything else that we're missing?" They shook their heads. "Then we're going to have to assume the worst. Jonah and Phil are probably lost or dead. We're going to have to go rescue Michael, Naomi, Gage, Ellery, and Travis on our own."

There was a moment of shocked silence. "So…what if they aren't dead and show up after we're gone?" Sklyar asked.

I smiled, but it felt unnatural and forced, and I got the feeling that it was more of a grim smile then anything else. "That is where Connor gets to be a vandal. Well, sort of a vandal." Connor immediately perked up.

"What am I supposed to do?" he asked.

"Does anybody have a sharpie?" I asked.

"Give me five minutes and I'll have a sharpie," Connor smirked, then took off running.

Five minutes later, Connor was back with a couple sharpies, a pen, and a mouthful of what looked suspiciously like chocolate. He handed the pen to me and looked for further instructions. "What's the plan, oh brilliant one?"

I sighed. "Lay off the sarcasm, please. It's not exactly been an easy day."

"I'll try. What's the plan, though?"

"We need to leave a message here for Phil and Jonah that only they would be able to read," I said.

I could practically see the wheels turning in Connor's head. Then the penny dropped, so to speak. "Oh…I see. And you have to much of a conscience to do it yourself, so you're asking me."

"Could you just write the message?" Skylar asked.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Connor turned to the rock he had been sitting on and started scribbling with the sharpie. A couple minutes later, he turned back around. "Done!"

I looked over his work. It said, in moderately clear Greek, "Phil and Jonah, we had to leave. We're headed for Seattle. Don't try to follow us. Meet us back here in three days unless you have a better plan. Yours not-so-truly, Connor Stoll."

"You didn't have to illustrate it!" Skylar exclaimed. I took a closer look. Sure enough, Connor had drawn various stick figures to illustrate several parts of his message, including some dying bloody deaths. I did not know it was possible to give a stick figure a bloody death, but then again, the impossible tends to happen around us. .

"Who cares? If I'm going to write on a rock, I can at least have some fun while I'm at it," Connor whined.

"Whatever. The point is, we need to get to Seattle and we don't have the money for plane tickets," I pointed out.

Connor grinned, and I found myself instinctively reaching for my necklace to make sure it was still there. "That's what you think," he smirked, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out a wad of bills. "You'd be amazed at how much money some of these people will keep in their pockets."

"Well, I guess we're good to go then," I said, relieved.

Several hours later, we stepped out into Seattle. "I am never riding a plane again," I moaned, laying down on the sidewalk and pressing my cheek to the pavement, glad to feel something solid again. Air travel made me sick.

"I am never going through airport security again," Connor grumbled, nudging me with his toe. "That was awful!" I think most of this groaning was over the fact that his sword had been found and taken.

"What are you all complaining about?" Skylar asked innocently. "I thought it was great! Except that it would have been better if the plane was open, like the first prototypes were."

"You would think it was great, you're Aeolus' child," I groaned, sitting up.

"So, where are we going?" Connor asked.

"I really don't know," I answered. That was when we saw the note in Ancient Greek taped to the side of the post office. For a moment, we just stood there, looking at it. Then Connor started running towards the post office, trying to get to the note. That was when a gust of wind blew it away. Wind…I suddenly had an idea. "Skylar!"

"Yeah?"

"Can you, by any chance, get that note back? I think it might be important."

Skylar nodded. "Just give me a second." She closed her eyes and scrunched her face in concentration. About thirty seconds later, the piece of paper floated back to us on a gentle breeze.

Connor grabbed the note and read aloud, "'Ha! I fooled you, didn't I? You actually thought I would tell Michael where he was! As if! Now, of course, you are on the wrong side of the country, and very separated from your friends. Good luck finding them again!' It's signed by Nyx."

Skylar let out a low whistle. I massaged my temples. Suddenly an idea struck me. "Turn it over!" I exclaimed. Connor gave me a strange look, but did what I said.

"There's nothing on here," he said.

"Well, so much for that idea," I sighed. "Quiet, please. I need to think." This was directed at Skylar, who has started humming under her breath.

"You heard her. She needs to think," Connor echoed.

"Hurry up, then," Skylar snapped. "It'll be night soon." She was right. The sun was starting to set and the sky was darkening. I sat down on the edge of the sidewalk and rested my head in my hands. Connor and Skylar sat down by me. We sat there, watching the sunset for a while until an idea fell on me like an atom bomb.

"I've got it!" I exclaimed.

"What?" Connor asked.

"They're in the Underworld! Phil and Jonah saw something down there. The only reason they wouldn't have met up with us would be if they'd found something. It stands to reason that they found Nyx's prison. So, it must be in the Underworld," I concluded. Connor and Skylar nodded. I continued, "And where is the nearest entrance to the Underworld?"

A look of realization came over their faces. "LA," Skylar said.

"That's right," I replied, nodding grimly. Connor swore under his breath. "I agree with your sentiments exactly," I added dryly.

_Michael_

I had redefined "supremely, utterly, completely, totally, and any-other-synonyms-that-you-can-think-of annoying" several times within that day. Or at least I thought it was a day. Being in a cell without a visible door or even a freaking _window_, it can get kind of hard to tell what time it was. For all I knew, it could have been only an hour, although I certainly hoped that it had been longer then that. At the moment, Travis was gloating about how he had a window and I didn't. "Will you SHUT UP!" I yelled for what seemed like the millionth time.

"You know, Michael, you have such a nice view from this _window_. I can see across the hallway- say! There's Gage! I think they just questioned him or something, 'cause they're pulling him back to his cell. Hey, he punched one of them in the jaw! Did it without turning around, either. Man, for an Athena kid, he can fight!"

"He's a son of Morpheus," I corrected, but Travis wasn't listening.

"He's attacking them! One's down, but there's two left- Ooh! That must have hurt."

"What happened?" I asked. You know, having hardly seen light for four days- or was it five now?- I was getting rather eager for information. The only real way to keep track of time now was by how far up the sand came. It was up to my chest now, and I was starting to get really tired. I couldn't even sit down without starting to suffocate.

"Gage happened. He grabbed the one guard's shield and decked the other guard with it. He's holding the other guard off now- Oh wow, I didn't know Athena kids were that tough. Most of 'em are a bunch of wimpy bookworms."

I allowed myself a small smirk. "Do you want me to tell Khristi that?"

I could practically see Travis pale, even though I was alone in my cell. "Um…you wouldn't tell her I said that, would you?"

"And actually, I already told you that Gage is a child of Morpheus. Not Athena, Morpheus," I laughed, but it died in my throat. It really isn't easy to laugh in a completely black cell that is slowly filling with a thin sand that will eventually suffocate you. If you don't believe me, try it for yourself. "What's happening?" I asked.

"Well, Gage just got a slash down his cheek, but he didn't even flinch. He decked the other guard, too. Man, for someone armed with only a shield, he's a pretty good fighter. Now he's running down the corridor. He's-"

"Wait," I cut Travis off, "Did you just use the word corridor?"

"…Yeah."

"Dude, Khristi has been rubbing off on you."

"Anyways, back to Gage. There's a couple guards turning the corner- _Look out Gage!_" Connor suddenly shouted. "Ooh, that was awesome," he added after a couple minutes of some suspicious-sounding banging.

"Well…what happened?" I asked impatiently.

"Didn't you see?"

"I don't have a window, idiot."

"Oh, right. Anyways, Gage body-slammed the one guard as he was turning the corner. That in itself was awesome, but the really cool part comes next. So anyways, Gage doesn't even wince, and the guard is wearing full armor. While the guard is stunned, Gage grabs a pair of handcuffs of the guard's belt and handcuffs the guy. Then, he grabs the guard's sword just in time to block a strike from the other guard. They fought for a minute, but then the guard- Hold on a minute."

"What?"

"He needs a name."

"He's a guard. Why are you giving him a name?" I asked.

"Because I don't want to just call him "the guard". He's Joe."

"I have a cousin named Joe. Go on…" I was getting pretty interested.

"Joe charged Gage, but Gage ducked down, so Joe kind of tripped, and when he was about to land on Gage, Gage stood up and Joe went flying. He hit his head and he hasn't moved."

"What's happening now?" I demanded.

"Gage is running again. I think he took a sword with him. Oh, shoot. That isn't good."

"Tell me!" I yelled.

"Gage just got ambushed by three guards. They've dragged him back to his cell," Connor sighed. Something flickered in front of me and I blinked.

"Michael?" a voice asked. The flicker solidified into the familiar figure of Khristi.

"Yeah. Travis is in the cell by me, Gage is across the hall. There's a lot of gurads in this section," I blurted. Khristi _had_ to know that much at least.

"Good to know. Connor, Skylar, and I are in Seattle. Nyx tricked us," Khristi sighed. Her image started to flicker again. "Michael?" her voice floated out.

"Yeah."

"Don't die on me, 'kay?" Khristi said.

"I'll try not to," I promised.

"I'm coming," I heard before Khristi disappeared completely.

_Naomi_

Prison was getting really boring. I had run of things to do, and for me, that can be really bad. I'm always doing _something_. Just ask Connor. Oh. Right. Connor still hates me. I sighed. There had been a commotion around the corner a few minutes earlier, but other then that, nothing had happened all day. That is, until I heard soft footsteps and a British accent. I was tempted to call out, but decided against it, thinking it might be a trap.

"There's nothing here, Jonah. Let's go the other way," the guy with the accent said.

"I don't know, Phil. What if Ellery's around here?" Jonah replied.

"What if she's the other way?" Phil asked.

"Fine, we'll go your way." Their footsteps receded and I sighed.

"So, ready to join us yet?" Ami asked, looking into my cell.

"Go drown in a vat of urple, dummy," I said.

"I guess not. You'll come around eventually, though. Everybody does," Ami said.

"What was that commotion earlier?" I asked, trying to get some information.

Ami immediately clammed up. "That is classified information." Well, so much for finding out something _interesting. _

**A/N- Pretty long, for one of my chapters. For those of you who don't know what urple is, it's pink and purple combined in the worst way possible. It originates in the fic, "Official Fanfiction University of Middle Earth". Review?**

**-Smartone101**


	12. 12: End

_Khristi_

You never realize it's the end until it's too late. Everything is like that, really; books, quests…hey, even life. And then, when the end is staring you in the face, all you want to do is sit there and cry, and wish it had lasted a little longer. It hurts, of course. Endings always do. And really, the end of a life is not so different than the end of a book. There's that tight feeling in your heart, and you wish there were still a few pages left, something to hold onto for just a little bit longer. If I had a drachma for every time I wished for a happy ending, I'd be richer than Hades. Wishes don't count for anything, though, and I realized that, finally.

Maybe the realization struck me when the demigods surrounded us in Seattle. Maybe it wasn't until our weapons had been taken and our hands tied. No, no, that isn't right. It could have been when we were brought to the Underworld. Or, then again, maybe I never stopped wishing until I saw Michael again.

To be frank, he looked awful. Someone must have let him out of his prison, because there he was, sitting against a wall in the long stone corridor that we were being marched through. His eyes were barely open, but I thought that he might have seen me. "Michael," I whispered as we passed, and I thought I saw a flicker of a smile pass over his face. Someone hauled him to his feet, and he was forced into the group of prisoners.

We walked for a long time, it seemed, although perhaps it was not very long after all. In the end, though, we stood before a throne in a dark room. Nyx was seated on that throne, and she smiled coldly when she saw us. "All of them, here," she said in a pleased tone. "How…gratifying. I believe this is checkmate, my dears. The end of the game for you, but only the beginning for me."

"What have you done?" It was Michael's voice, I thought, though it sounded weaker than I'd ever heard it before.

"I destroyed your camp, of course." She nodded once, and I felt a sword blade resting against the side of my throat. "Now, is anyone willing to join me? I'm very good about giving people second chances, you know." I shook my head, and hoped that I was not the only one.

"I- I will." The voice was tired, and as the speaker was pushed forward I was shocked to see Naomi. She glanced over at me. "I'm sorry," she mouthed, "but somebody has to survive."

Nyx smiled. "Very good. Excellent, in fact. It's a pity that none of the rest of you will join me." A hand slipped into mine. I realized that it must have been Michael's; he was the only one of us with his hands free. I squeezed his hand, emotions churning in me. "As the rest of you will not join me, there's only one option left. Guards, you know what to do." I barely had time to close my eyes before the sword ended my short life as a demigod.

_Jay_

The camp was burning. I had snuck away into the woods when nobody was watching, thinking that nobody would take the time to stop one limping son of Hermes. It was over, I realized. The camp had fallen, and the demigods were either killed or missing. I had thought I had seen some fleeing, but I did not know if they were still alive. _The quest has failed_, I thought grimly. _Perhaps I am the last demigod left alive who has not sworn loyalty to Nyx._ As monsters and enemy demigods continued to trample my former home into dust, I slipped further into the woods. "You do not know what you have started," I whispered. "From this moment onwards, I swear revenge."

*End of Book Two*

**A/N: And so it is finished. Sorry for the abrupt ending, but don't worry! There's (hopefully) more to come, one final book in this story. Thanks to all who had stuck around through this!**

-smartone101


	13. Epilogue

_Jay_

Six long years have passed since that fateful day, when I saw camp in flames. Darkness has crept upon the world, slowly but surely growing each day. I had gathered a group of demigods. Some survived the burning, others had never heard of Camp Half-Blood. We were growing stronger, and I thought we may soon have enough to put up some sort of a resistance to Nyx and her brother. Then, we found the Romans.

There were two of them, both wounded. One died immediately after we brought him to our base. The other lived only a little longer, but before she died, she told us that their camp had been ruined as well. There was a prophecy, she said, one that the few remaining believed could be coming into effect soon. I wrote it down as she told me, though I was not sure that she spoke the truth. I told only those that I trusted the most about the prophecy.

It was a few weeks later that I heard the news. My second in command, Alicia, had been in charge of keeping an eye on several demigods that I suspected might be important. When she came up to me with a worried look on her face, I was immediately suspicious. Alicia –or Hal, as most people call her- is rarely worried. "What is it?" I asked.

She took a deep breath. "You know that one demigod? The one that we were nearly certain was the one on the prophecy?" I nodded slowly. Hal had been urging me to find a way to bring this demigod to our base, especially since she believed that he had discovered his powers. "He's been taken. By Nyx." I whistled softly. This, I realized, could be bad.


End file.
